Every time you sit down in a cafe in Kosovo, the waiter asks you if you are English. When you explain that you are actually American, their faces light up and they think of something to praise that is American. Usually this involves a reference to Rihanna or Bill Clinton or New York City because "Diamonds" is on repeat, Bill Clinton is the man, and New York City is the best place on earth. People we meet tell us about their cousin who lives in the U.S. and how they want to go but need an elusive and expensive visa. In a country with an average annual per capita income of $7,400 and unemployment hovering at 45%, $160 for a visa is a luxury. This means that for most Kosovars, they are confined to Kosovo limiting their universe for employment, education, and travel.
Kosovars have only four countries they can travel to without obtaining a visa: Macedonia, Albania, Turkey, and the Maldives (whaaaa?). This country is a developing democracy with Europe's youngest population with an average age of 25 and is confined to its borders. Because they are young and European and will best implement democracy when they can experience it, Kosovars should be traveling abroad, experiencing democracy, and gaining educations at well-established institutions. Choice in education is limited. There is one public university- University of Pristina- meaning that classes are enormous and quality student teacher relationships can be fleeting. There is an American university run in partnership with a school in New York that is cost prohibitive for all but the wealthiest. The option that many Kosovars turn to is private, for profit colleges. These institutions offer smaller class size and faculty who have day jobs in the public and private sector. What they lack, though, is consistency and accountability in education leaving no true measure to provide veracity of the degrees they confer.
A young woman invited me for coffee and we spoke for hours on the reality she faces being Kosovar. She is smart, bilingual, and has family support- something that can make all of the difference in Kosovo. She attends the University of Pristina while teaching English part time. By all standards, she should have the world open to her. Instead, she is unable to apply for master's programs abroad, can't get a visa, and can't find work she wants to do. The current situation regarding visa liberalization and the less than meritocratic society in Kosovo mean her world is very much limited. She poignantly equates obtaining letters of reference from professors to requesting autographs from celebrities.
Her story is not unique. To be fair, it is also not the only story. I have met others who completed a fully funded LLM at Oxford or University of Pennsylvania and are now working as brilliant young lawyers developing rule of law in Kosovo. They are living the law dream that is impossible in the U.S. Young, bright, recent graduates are shaping a nation's policy and law, learning through trial and error and collaboration. These same jobs in the U.S. would have a stiff 10 years of experience requirement that perpetuate our unpaid internship culture. But, considering the numbers I referenced at the start, these success stories are fewer than ideal.
What does this have to do with my law degree?
These stories and countless others have given me pause to reflect on the value of my law degree (or my bachelor's degree for that matter). As we have all experienced or read, the plight of legal education in the U.S. is in the spotlight. The J.D. is sold as a general degree that can prepare a graduate for a multitude of professions. I do not disagree. The J.D. communicates that you have critical thinking
skills, an ability to communicate logically and reasonably, a strong
sense for editing and writing, and that you are smart and tenacious
(enough so to get through law school at least).
Graduating from law school in 2012 put me in a class of people that
form an anomaly (albeit, a multi year anomaly) in what is otherwise
thought of as a rigorously obtained degree by intelligent, motivated
people who make 'smart hires' for any organization. The fallacy of holding the J.D. out as a general degree is that it costs too much to be anything but preparation for a six-figure law firm salary, which most of us will not be scoring.
The J.D. has been revered in my experiences in Kosovo. As a terminal degree in law, it differs from most legal education in the world that is conducted at the undergraduate level. Most J.D. candidates seek professional summer experiences or clinics to enhance their education with practical experience. This resume building experience and educational prestige equates to a higher expertise that can be of value in numerous contexts. Being in Kosovo has reminded me of the valuable skill set I possess because of law school. The problem isn't necessarily the degree, it's the cost of the degree.
Solutions to the law degree debate have been written about ad nauseum. Tuition, matriculation rates, and emphasis on practical experiences are often discussed and important to reform. For what it's worth, I think law schools should be in the business of career development. Whether preparing students with the confidence to be entrepreneurs in new, underrepresented areas of law or partnering with communities domestically and abroad to provide sharp legal minds in legal practice or rule of law development. Law schools who tout the "general" value of a J.D. degree should be responsible for identifying these markets and jobs, thinking outside of the box when guiding students. Law schools have a duty to inform and convince all potential employers that recent graduates are value added to organizations. Experience is important but so are fresh perspectives, inquisitive energy, and youthful idealism. Organizations should feel responsible for hiring recent graduates to enhance their business and, in turn, the economy. I have seen the value first hand in the legal minds of 28 year olds shaping Kosovo policy.
My experience abroad has given me a broader perspective on many things including the value of my law degree. As we have all seen, the competition for legal jobs is fierce with many qualified individuals unable to find well paid jobs to afford their law school loan payments. This dark reality has overshadowed the real skills obtained in law school. Our ability to read, analyze, and explain the law is a powerful tool. We are able to help others navigate complicated and emotional issues in a forum that requires what can be equated to foreign language skills.
In a sea of negativity, I want to offer this one perspective to acknowledge the work we all put in and a reminder of the skills we developed, as I have been reminded. While we can't change the fact that we now have student loan debt in the six figure range, we are all legally trained and should be zealous advocates for reform. As I mentioned, reform can be imagined in a variety of compelling solutions and changes to the status quo. All these reforms should be considered in addition to tuition adjustment. The degree is valuable- it is just not properly valued. It needs to be priced according to market and the cost-benefit analysis revalued to reflect the general employment expectation that is so often marketed by schools.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the swearing in of the recent bar passers of Kosovo. The American Ambassador spoke and highlighted the duty of young lawyers to best serve their clients and the development of their country. I had a pang of jealousy at their opportunity to find meaningful work while my classmates face taking jobs out of financial necessity. And then I remembered the constraints, and they are really harsh, meaningful constraints. Some things seem better here, and some seem much worse, side by side creating a juxtaposition, and again, perspective. To Kosovars, America is the land of opportunity where constraints are easily managed through ingenuity and persistence. Just like Kosovars, rather than focusing on the constraints, I am going to focus on overcoming them.
